The Weekly Rundown: 11/12/23 - 11/18/23
The week before Thanksgiving featured plenty of trades and free-agency rumors.
Good morning and Happy Sunday!
We’re still waiting for the big offseason moves to be made, and given the nature of the MLB offseason, we might be waiting a while. That said, we had our first week of real offseason action with several trades and a handful of intriguing free-agency rumors.
Before we jump in, you can subscribe below (FREE) to get these rundowns — and more content where that came from — sent to your e-mail as soon as they’re published. Every subscription is a huge help.
Thanks to those of you who do!
Now grab your coffee and let’s get into it…
Award Winners
American League MVP - Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels
National League MVP - Ronald Acuña Jr., Atlanta Braves
For the first time in league history, the MVPs for both leagues won by unanimous vote. Ohtani became the first player ever to win the award unanimously twice.
There never was much of a question about whether Ohtani and Acuńa would take home the hardware. Ohtani put up historic numbers despite missing the final month of the season with an elbow injury. Acuńa is the first player to hit 40 homers and steal 70 bases in a season.
American League Cy Young - Gerrit Cole, New York Yankees
National League Cy Young - Blake Snell, San Diego Padres
Another obvious one, Cole won the AL Cy Young unanimously over Sonny Gray and Kevin Gausman. Snell earned 28 of the 38 first-place votes with Logan Webb and Zac Gallen getting one each.
American League Rookie of the Year - Gunnar Henderson, Baltimore Orioles
National League Rookie of the Year - Corbin Carroll, Arizona Diamondbacks
As you can tell, it wasn’t exactly a mystery who would win these awards. The same goes for the Rookie of the Year awards, which were won unanimously by Henderson and Carroll. No surprises there after their dominant debut seasons.
American League Manager of the Year - Brandon Hyde, Baltimore Orioles
National League Manager of the Year - Skip Schumaker, Miami Marlins
Hyde earned the honor after leading the young O’s to an AL East title. Schumaker led the Marlins to the playoffs in his first year as an MLB manager.
Notable Non-Tenders
The following players were not tendered contracts for 2024 and will hit the free-agent market:
Brandon Woodruff, RHP, Milwaukee Brewers
Rowdy Tellez, 1B/DH, Milwaukee Brewers
Daniel Vogelbach, 1B/DH, New York Mets
Kyle Lewis, OF, Arizona Diamondbacks
Adam Cimber, RHP, Toronto Blue Jays
Dom Smith, 1B/DH, Washington Nationals
Matt Bush, RHP, Texas Rangers
Dakota Hudson, RHP, St. Lous Cardinals
Garrett Hampson, INF, Miami Marlins
Jacob Stallings, C, Miami Marlins
Austin Meadows, OF, Detroit Tigers
Spencer Turnbull, RHP, Detroit Tigers
Nick Senzel, UTIL, Cincinnati Reds
Codi Heuer, RHP, Chicago Cubs
Kolby Allard, LHP, Atlanta Braves
Yonny Chirinos, RHP, Atlanta Braves
Manager Hirings
With Dusty Baker calling it a career, the Houston Astros hired their bench coach Joe Espada to succeed him. Espada served in the bench coach role with the club from 2018-23.
The Brewers made the same move, hiring their bench coach Pat Murphy to replace Craig Counsell (Cubs) as skipper. He has been Milwaukee’s bench coach since 2015.
The Padres remain as the one team currently without a manager following Bob Melvin's departure.
Let The Trades Begin
Nothing groundbreaking, but we did have a few trades over the last week. Here were the noteworthy ones:
The Royals and Braves completed two trades with each other on Friday.
Atlanta sent reliever Nick Anderson to Kansas City for cash considerations.
Right-hander Kyle Wright went to the Royals in exchange for fellow first-round righty Jackson Kowar.
Wright will likely miss the entire 2024 season due to right shoulder surgery. A key piece of the Braves’ 2021 World Series run, he isn’t scheduled to hit free agency until 2027
Kowar, the 33rd overall pick in the 2018 draft, has struggled so far in the Majors with a 9.12 ERA over 39 games (eight starts) and 74 innings.
The Braves acquired reliever Aaron Bummer from the White Sox for starters Michael Soroka and Jared Shuster, middle infielders Nicky Lopez and Braden Shewmake, and minor league right-hander Riley Gowens.
Bummer has enjoyed an excellent career in Chicago, but he struggled mightily last season. He posted a 6.79 ERA in 61 outings (58.1 innings). That makes this deal somewhat questionable for the Braves, but it’s clear they’re betting a change of scenery will help him regain form as a reliable set-up man.
The Cleveland Guardians acquired reliever Scott Barlow from the San Diego Padres in exchange for reliever Enyel De Los Santos.
The Padres are trying to cut spending, so parting ways with Barlow makes some sense. Their bullpen is set to take a step back next season, however, if they also lose Josh Hader in free agency.
Barlow had a 4.37 ERA last season in 63 appearances between the Padres and Kansas City Royals. After struggling to start the season, he found his groove out west after the trade deadline.
De Los Santos posted a 3.29 ERA through 65.2 innings pitched with the Guardians in 2023.
The Marlins acquired utility man Vidal Bruján and right-hander Calvin Faucher from the Rays for minor league infielder Erick Lara, right-hander Andrew Lindsey and a player to be named later.
Brujan is the big name in this deal. He’s a switch-hitting utility player who was a top prospect in the Rays organization. While he saw great minor-league success, he has struggled to catch on in the majors, posting a .157/.218/.221 slash line with three homers in 272 plate appearances.
The Colorado Rockies acquired right-hander Cal Quantrill from the Guardians for Single-A catcher Kody Huff/
Quantrill struggled through a shoulder issue in 2023 but was rock-solid in 2021-22, posting a 3.16 ERA in 336 innings during that span.
Cashman vs. Stanton
The story of the offseason so far is Yankees GM Brian Cashman is unhinged.
After saying he believes the Yankees roster is “pretty fucking good” (it’s not), Cashman fired a shot at his own veteran slugger Giancarlo Stanton for his lengthy injury history.
"We've gotta get Stanton up and running again," Cashman said at the GM meetings. "He's injury-prone. We all have lived and known that, but he's never not hit when he's playing, and this year is the first time that that's happened."
...
"We try to limit the time he's down," he added. "But I'm not gonna tell you he's gonna play every game next year because he's not. He's going to wind up getting hurt again more likely than not because it seems to be part of his game. But I know that when he's right and healthy – other than this past year – the guy's a great hitter and has been for a long time."
That bolded line was the one he might regret. Stanton’s agent, Joel Wolfe, replied with this:
"I read the context of the entire interview,” Wolfe said. “I think it's a good reminder for all free agents considering signing in New York both foreign and domestic that to play for that team you've got to be made of Teflon, both mentally and physically because you can never let your guard down even in the offseason."
Wolfe, by the way, also has Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto as a client — one of the Yankees’ most coveted free agents. Oof!
Cashman later backtracked and praised Stanton:
“I feel like things got spun out of control with the coverage a week later,” Cashman said. “I had a conversation with Joel Wolfe, who I’ve known a long time, and also our player, Giancarlo Stanton. I feel like everything’s in a good spot.
“I value Giancarlo Stanton as a player. Without a doubt, he’s one of the big drivers when we do win. He’s one of the few players you bring to New York that hasn’t backed down, that has handled himself in a professional manner through thick and thin.
“He’s one of the few players that, when the money’s on the line – if you look at his postseason numbers, it’s pretty impressive. He’s a gifted, talented player. He’s a feared hitter. We’d love to be able to deploy him at all times.”
That’s high praise and all, but seems like he knows he screwed up and is covering his tracks. Just a bizarre story all around.
I doubt Cashman’s words will have any effect on Yamamoto negotiations, or any others for that matter, but he may want to just refrain from speaking his mind for the rest of the winter. He’s doing his team zero favors.
Rapid Fire
Padres owner Peter Seidler passed away at the age of 63. Eric Kutsenda is the club’s new control person for the time being.
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred announced Atlanta will host the 2025 All-Star festivities.
MLB owners voted unanimously to allow the Athletics to relocate from Oakland to Las Vegas.
The Rumor Mill
Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto already has a long list of reported suitors. Among the teams that have been linked: Phillies, Diamondbacks, Tigers, Yankees, Red Sox, Mets, Dodgers, Rangers, Mariners, Cubs, Giants, and Cardinals. In other words, everyone wants to add an ace to their rotation. Breaking news!
According to Héctor Gómez of Z101 Digital, the Dodgers intend to be "very aggressive" in their pursuit of free-agent superstar Shohei Ohtani and are "willing to give up their best prospects" to acquire Mike Trout from the Angels.
The San Francisco Giants are interested in free-agent third baseman Matt Chapman, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post. However, the Blue Jays are “making a big push” to retain him.
The Giants are also interested in free-agent first baseman/outfielder Cody Bellinger, according to ESPN.
The Blue Jays, Nationals, Reds, Angels, and Diamondbacks are interested in free-agent corner infielder Jeimer Candelario, per ESPN.
The Padres, Dodgers, and Giants have shown interest in two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell, per Jon Heyman of The New York Post.
The Yankees and Mets have expressed interest in trading for Rays outfielder Manuel Margot, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and the New York Post’s Joel Sherman.
Thanks for reading! Catch you next Sunday.